Skip to main content
Advertising
Powered by

The recognition is coming, the game film is fun to watch

Undrafted Hall of Famers are a select group

170331-insider-inbox-950.jpg


Hannah from London, UK

Hello. My name is Hannah and I'm sick and tired of this website being all my boyfriend spends his time on! Please could you post less frequently and move Packers games later into the evening so he can't stay up and watch them. Thanks.

So glad to be back.

Tony from Colorado Springs, CO

Kenny Clark and Mike Daniels both wrestled in high school. Mike Trgovac won a high school state title in Ohio and James Campen was a state high school runner-up in California. I'd be curious to hear who you think would've won the four-man round robin of them in their high school days. Any chance you can ask them what they think?

Do you really think any one of them would cast a vote for someone else? I don't. The high school wrestlers I covered when I cut my teeth in this business never believed anyone else was better, and I came to understand there's no other way to take the mat. I never was one, but I've always admired successful wrestlers.

Jeff from Bakersfield, WI

Speaking of trading the farm for a player, refresh my memory if I'm wrong but didn't Dan Devine send the farm to San Diego to get John Hadl back in the day? And what about our arch enemy, the Vikings getting Chuck Foreman? I think those might be some classic crash and burn scenarios that were a complete waste.

The Hadl trade is the all-time disaster. Picks in the first three rounds in 1975 and the first two rounds in 1976 for a washed-up QB. When you see over the subsequent two years (1977-78) that the Packers picked Mike Butler, Ezra Johnson, James Lofton and John Anderson at the top of those drafts, you wonder what the early '80s Packers might have accomplished. I don't know what you mean with the Chuck Foreman reference, unless you're actually talking about Herschel Walker, the trade that helped build the early '90s Dallas dynasty. The one that always gets me was Mike Ditka trading his entire Saints draft for Ricky Williams in 1999. How would it have felt to be a New Orleans scout the moment that trade was announced? An entire year's worth of work was rendered basically meaningless in an instant.

Mohammed from Teaneck, NJ

Is it illegal for a team interested in a free agent to ask his former team why they cut him? This would make it much easier for the team to identify whether the player is worth spending money on.

If you have to ask, your personnel department's checks are the ones to be worried about.

Team Photographer Evan Siegle shares some of his favorite images of the 2016 season.

Margeaux from Tallahassee, FL

Hey Mike and Wes! I am an amateur photographer of no repute. I really appreciate Evan Siegle's pictures of the year along with lens used, shutter speed and aperture. Do either of you have a particular favorite?

I couldn't pick a favorite of Evan's. His stuff is too good.

Eric from St. Louis, MO

I don't think colleges should pay their athletes because the schools with more money in their athletic departments would have an unfair recruiting advantage. However, I don't see why players shouldn't be allowed to make money off endorsements or merchandise bearing their names. What do you think?

It's an incredibly complicated issue that has no ideal solution or someone would have come up with it by now. I don't like the stories of scholarship athletes having no money to go to a movie or buy a pizza if they want, so a means-tested stipend for walking-around money has been a thought I've kicked around. But as someone about to send his first-born off to college, I count tuition, room, and board as rather substantial payment for services rendered.

Alexander from Tucson, AZ

I agree paying college athletes becomes a messy situation. But why not let them be allowed to at least sell their signatures, do commercials/endorsements, hold a football camp and charge kids, etc. I see nothing at all wrong with that. What's your opinion?

They would need to have an agent coordinating all those activities for them, right? College athletes with agents would get messy, too.

Adam from Madison, WI

One of the overlooked problems with paying college players is income tax. They should be responsible for income tax on their scholarships, but it is overlooked because hardly any would be able to afford it. If they pay, they'd be taxed on the cost of the scholarship and income requiring the pay to be so high for them to see any real benefit there is no way a university could afford it.

More mess.

Paul from Manitowoc, WI

How about this: Leave Vic's office just like it is, open the door, and make it part of the stadium tour. Maybe charge extra.

That's it. The Ketchman Reality Tour. It even includes a visit to a gas pump in January.

Dave from Comer, GA

I'd like to suggest that the Packers institute a team rule that no one can shave until the Packers win a Super Bowl. Who do I need to contact to get this done?

I didn't shave from the day my vacation started until the day before I came back to work. I just did it because I liked having one less thing to do every morning. Any other motives for such an endeavor escape me.

Scott from Palos Park, IL

I think a second year leap by Clark could make Daniels a Pro Bowl player. Will an extra dominant body in the middle of the D-line help Daniels elevate his game even higher?

It could, or it could make life easier for the guys on the edge, too. Either way, Daniels' Pro Bowl recognition is coming. I really believe that. There's no player I enjoy studying on the All-22 more than Daniels. His game film is fun to watch.

Greg from Cuenca, Ecuador

Insiders, some back-of-the napkin research showed me that since 2012, there have been 59 quarterbacks drafted. Of the 59, only 15 are either starters or considered starting material (think Garoppolo). That's about a 75 percent "miss rate" for the position. Tough odds.

Toughest position.

Mark from Seattle, WA

Concerning the new rule changes, I'm one Packers fan who is thrilled Seattle's defense can no longer jump over the offensive snapper on field-goal attempts.

I'm just glad they outlawed it before someone lost a season, or a career, trying the stunt.

Chad from Tarpon Springs, FL

Players in free agency often say, "It's out of my hands," with regard to money. Has it always been this way and in what way do players across the league communicate this with each other?

There's a lot of code in free-agency talk. "It's out of my hands" is just code for "I'm not signing for less than the market says I'm worth."

Jeff from Pleasant Prairie, WI

What mode of communication do the GMs use during the draft to communicate with each other about potential trading of picks?

They're required to use iPhone 7 stickers this year.

Matthew from Saskatoon, Canada

The league is looking to speed up games. Why not have a 30-second huddle clock instead of a 40-second? Why a three-minute commercial break, then another 40-second huddle? As soon as the commercial break is over snap the ball.

There's no need for major alterations, and the focus is not on speeding up games, but eliminating frequent down times. Getting rid of the touchdown-commercial-kickoff-commercial sequence is a huge step in the right direction. If commercial breaks are a little longer and fewer in number, I think that would be an improvement, too.

Brian from Alta Vista, FL

Who in your opinion is the best undrafted free agent, or name a couple of great ones that come to mind.

A select group of just 17 has made the Pro Football Hall of Fame, including Green Bay's own Willie Wood and the class of 2017's Kurt Warner. My favorite from the list would probably be John Randle, but that's familiarity bias. I know more about him than the others. He entered the league in 1990, and Warner is the first undrafted player who turned pro since then to make the Hall. The next could be Adam Vinatieri and/or Antonio Gates.

Kevin from Jacksonville, FL

"Mike McCarthy said during the NFC coaches' breakfast he believes tight end is 'pushing the envelope' for most important offensive position behind quarterback and left tackle. Offenses are attacking the middle of the field more than ever before and tight ends have been the perfect conduit." Congratulations! The Packer senior brass has finally realized what the Patriots have been doing for years. How many years will it take for them to realize it will take serious speed at inside linebacker to counter the emphasis at tight end?

So the lighter, faster inside linebacker can get bulldozed in the run game? C'mon, it's not that easy or everyone could take the tight end away, even Gronk.

Blaine from Bagley, WI

Just saw a video of a massive alligator strolling through a South Carolina golf course (much like the Florida one a while ago). I hope that isn't Vic's normal course.

As long as he kept the last "thing," he'll be fine.

Shawn from Fort Collins, CO

With the recent signing of Justin McCray, does that means the Packers are looking to send their first- and second-round pick in a different direction other than offensive line? Or is he just another body to help our limited guard situation?

McCray will compete for a spot on the roster. That's about all anyone can say at this point. As for the draft, the obvious opening at guard won't necessarily push the Packers into using that high a pick to fill it. Interior guys like Sitton, Lang, Tretter, and Linsley were all fourth- and fifth-rounders, even though all but Linsley played tackle in college.

Brian from South Lake Tahoe, CA

If you want to shake things up, take the readers' comments and make them the answer, then write a stupid question to fit their comments.

Can I make it a smart question instead?

This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be missing content or contain faulty links. Please use the Contact Us link in our site footer to report an issue.
Advertising